Video snap problems! (some snaps not always playing, not always with same volume)

[Jenslyn87]

Hi all,

I'm currently in the process of building my first Retropie. Loving it, but I'm getting stalled by a couple of (probably related) issues. Both problems are about video snaps, which I now have for all my games in Emulationstation.

1: The VOLUME on the video snaps is inconsistent, even for the same snap. This is very odd indeed. Sometimes when I browse over a game the volume is really loud. You can really tell the difference. This would not be so strange if not for the following: If I then highlight a different snap and come back to the loud snap, the loudness will often be gone and the snap will play at the same volumes as other snaps. I have no idea why this happens.

2: Every now and then a snap won't play. Again, no clue why. This is a rare occurence, but it happens often enough to bother me. I'll highlight a game and the video should play. Nothing happens. If I then highlight a different game and come back to the one that did not play the snap, the snap will now play. This seems to be completely consistent. Every time a snap does not play, I just have to highlight a different game and go back to the problem game. The snap will then play.

Please, if anyone has any idea what's going on here I'd really appreciate your help. These are the final things I need to get in order before I'm happy with my setup!

Pi Model or other hardware: Pi3b
Power Supply used: default
RetroPie Version Used: 4.3
Built From: Just the Retropie download
Theme: Appears to happen in all themes, but I'm currently using Chrome
USB Devices connected: just a controller (PS3 or SNES) and standard USB keyboard
Problem is in Emulationstation

[mitu]

@jenslyn87 Can you try and update (from binary) the EmulationStation package ? I think there were some modifications recently w.r.t. normalizing the sound volume of video previews.
Are you using VLC (default) or the OMXplayer for the video previews ?

[Jenslyn87]

@mitu Thank you for trying to help out!

I'll attempt to update the EmulationStation package from binary. I don't even know what that means as I'm a noob with all of this. I just followed a guide that said 'Update from source', which I think means that the pie downloads from a website. But once I get home from work today I'll see if I can figure out how to update from binary, as you say.

Using OMXplayer for the snaps. For me at least that gives much better video quality and it appears to lower the stress on the pie.

[pjft]

@jenslyn87 Correct. OMX Player provides a better experience for videos. That being said, volume inconsistency for the same snap should not be expected - or expectable. I know it's not ideal, but can you try with a different TV and see if you experience the same?

It's normal to have that across different snaps, but for the same one I wonder if it's related to the TV.

[Jenslyn87]

@pjft Thank you for your response.

I have tried with both my Samsung TV and with my computer monitor. Same result. When I scroll down through my games lists I quite often find snaps that are inordinately loud. If I then highlight a different game and go back, the loud snap's volume will typically return to normal. Very odd ...

[pjft]

Thanks.

Maybe it would be helpful for you to share one such snap with us - maybe send it via a file transfer thingie of sorts? - and a video (can be with the phone) of that behavior happening, so that we can try to replicate it on our end?

Does it also happen with VLC (regardless of the video stuttering, etc - we're looking at the audio, so the audio should still play fine)?

[illando]

I already asked in another post but this one seems more appropriate:

Is there a way to set the audio volume of the scraped videos only?
I have the same problems of Jenslyn87 using OMX Player, and also my videos have a very high volume compared to the game sound of the cores.

[pjft]

@illando that in particular should have been fixed? Is the OMX player volume different to the VLC one? I submitted a fix for that a few weeks ago and I think it may have already made it to the main branch? If not, could you try installing the development version from RetroPie Setup and seeing if it's fixed there?

[illando]

@pjft said in Video snap problems! (some snaps not always playing, not always with same volume):

the OMX player volume different to the VLC one? I submitted a fix for that a few weeks ago and I think it may have already made it to the main branch? If not, could you try installing the development version from RetroPie Setup and seeing if it's fixed there?

Can I just update EmulationStation package as @mitu suggested?
I'll try next week, I'm actually have RetroPie Version 4.3.2 installed.

[pjft]

@illando yes, that should do it, unless the fix isn't on the main branch yet, though I don't think that's the case.

[Jenslyn87]

@pjft Sharing the video wouldn't help, because I'm pretty sure it only happens when the snaps are played through EmuStation! But I'll try to grab a video of it with the phone when I'm home. Shouldn't be too long.

[pjft]

@jenslyn87 Oh, but that's exactly what I'm saying. If you can share the video file, I can try to put it on my Pi and play it via ES to see if I can replicate it.

Your phone video will help me try to do exactly what you do.

EDIT: Also, can you share your ~/.emulationstation/es_settings.cfg file?

[Jenslyn87]

@pjft Here's a link to a video demonstrating the problem, albeit in a somewhat unusual version. Here I have to go back and forth between videos a couple of times before the volume goes down to normal, as you can see. This rom is the arcade classics for sega genesis:

[Jenslyn87]

@pjft Gotcha. I'm allowed to share video snaps? Do you have a mail address I can share the snap and the .cfg file to?

[jonnykesh]

@jenslyn87 https://expirebox.com is a great site for temporary file hosting. Stick the snap and config file in a zip and upload it. Paste the link. It auto deletes after 48 hours.

[Jenslyn87]

@jonnykesh Right! Thank you. Here's the snap: https://expirebox.com/download/67612559c41e644615168280fbf2db78.html ...

[Jenslyn87]

@jonnykesh aaand here's the .cfg https://expirebox.com/download/2b00b43ee6a8473a1c3939b6b86a5026.html

[Jenslyn87]

@pjft shared below:)

[pjft]

Thanks, downloaded. Can't promise I can pick this up soon-ish, but will do my best to look into this in the coming days/week.

What volume do you have ES set at?

[Jenslyn87]

@pjft Thank you! Appreciate it. Volume's at 80%